Paint Job
by waiting4morning
Summary: Someone's done something to Hokage Mountain, but for once it wasn't Naruto... though of course everyone thinks it was him, including Sakura. Three separate but related stories revolving around Naruto and Sakura.
1. Paint Job: First Coat

Paint Job: First Coat

Disclaimer: Guess what? I don't own Naruto. I know, shocking isn't it?

Takes place early shippuden. No spoilers to speak of...

* * *

Naruto rubbed the sweat from his face as he jerked the last windmill shuriken from its target. Good training today, and what better way to follow up good training with a good meal?

"Ramen, here I come!" he announced to the empty training field and started running toward the village. As he ran, imagining all the extras he would ask for on his ramen, he wondered if he should stop by Sakura's place and see if she wanted some ramen as well. Maybe he would finally get a date? That cheered him up almost as much as the thought of ramen. However… Naruto paused in his run to raise an arm, noticing the very unattractive sweat stain on his jumpsuit.

Whenever Ero-Sennin had started lecturing Naruto on women, he'd mostly tuned him out. How could the author of such boring books know anything about girls anyway? But one thing the old Toad Sage did seem to know… women liked cleanliness. Naruto frowned. Was a date with Sakura worth delaying ramen for?

After a few moments' deep thought, he decided that yes, it was. After all, the more he waited, the hungrier he would be and thus the more ramen he could eat. Naruto chuckled to himself. Genius!

Going through the main gate would take too long to get to his apartment, so he simply concentrated chakra on his feet and ran up the red walls of Konoha. A chuunin guard on one of the watchtowers stood in shock as he leapt over, but Naruto gave a jaunty wave and continued onto the rooftops.

Fifteen minutes later, Naruto leapt onto the rail outside his apartment, sweat free and clad in a clean jumpsuit.

His wet hair was dry by the time he dropped down in front of Ichiraku, smiling with anticipation.

"Two bowls of miso ramen and two bowls of shrimp ramen, please!" Naruto said, pushing his way through the white curtains adorning the front of the stand to plant himself on a stool.

Behind the counter, Teuchi and his daughter Ayame turned at the sound of his voice, staring at him.

"What?" Naruto checked his armpits again, but all was dry and deodorized.

"Are you sure you want to be here, Naruto-kun? In… public like this?" Ayame said, her brown eyes wide.

Naruto blinked. "Of course! This is the best ramen stand in town; where else would I rather—" He paused mid-sentence, mouth agape. He had completely forgotten about Sakura—he still had to ask her out! "Hold that ramen for me! I'll be right back!"

He ducked out of the ramen stand and trotted down the street, wondering where he should check first; Sakura's house or the hospital?

"Hey, Naruto! Nice job. Can't believe you're still alive."

Naruto turned as Kotetsu and Izumo came up, slapping him on the back.

"Yeah, kid. You sure got guts." Izumo smirked. "Perhaps more guts than brains."

"Ano…" Naruto rubbed the back of his head, wondering what was going on. An idea occurred to him. "Heh, yeah. Ero-Sennin is a good teacher. I learned a lot, ne?"

Kotetsu and Izumo glanced at each other and laughed. "Good one, Naruto!" sniggered Kotetsu, his bandaged nose crinkling. "Well, hey, I don't want to be around when Tsunade-sama finally catches you, so forget you ever saw us, okay?"

"Eh?"

The two chuunin, still laughing, left him standing in the middle of the street.

"That was weird," he muttered but shrugged and continued on his way. He'd try the hospital first, it was closer.

But the weirdness didn't stop as he continued down the road. People along the street were staring at him, mouths agape, whispering behind their hands. A familiar uneasiness stirred in his gut—what now? He wasn't sweaty or stinky. What were they staring at?

"Naruto," drawled a mild voice above him. Naruto looked up and saw a familiar tuft of silver hair.

"Kakashi-sensei?"

The lanky jounin dropped down from the rooftop he'd been sitting on, his new copy of _Make-out Tactics_ in hand. Kakashi patted Naruto on the shoulder. "It was nice knowing you, kid. Think you can coax an autograph out of Jiraiya-sama for me before your imminent demise?"

Naruto stared at his sensei, uncomprehending. "Ano…"

Kakashi lifted his head like a hound scenting the wind and looked down the street. "I think Iruka and Shizune-san are hot on your trail, Naruto. If you want a few more minutes of life, I suggest you get moving."

"But—!" Naruto didn't have time for any more as Kakashi leapt away. He was about to follow, to try to get some answers, but a shout behind him made him pause.

"Naruto!"

The blond teenager turned, eyes bugging out, and saw Iruka standing just down the street. The chuunin's face was red and scrunched up in a familiar expression of rage.

"Just wait till I get my hands on—hey! Stop!"

Naruto didn't know what he'd done or didn't do this time, but he wasn't going to wait to get pummeled. Leaving a cloud of dust in his wake, Naruto sprinted down the street, Iruka still shouting behind him. Dodging civilians was taking too much time, so he leapt to the rooftops and didn't stop until he felt he'd gained some safe distance. He hid in the rooftop garden of one of the taller apartment complexes to catch his breath and run through his scattered memories what he might have done do deserve whatever it was Iruka-sensei and Tsunade-baachan had in mind.

He peered through the foliage cautiously but didn't see any pursuers.

"What the—?" His jaw dropped as his eyes scanned the landscape, his glance falling across the stone faces of the Hokages on the side of the mountain.

"No wonder Tsunade-baachan is angry," he muttered weakly. Tsuande's stone face was one of the higher ones on the side of the mountain, leaving ample space beneath… enough for someone to paint the grey shirt she usually wore onto the mountainside, compete with huge cleavage.

"Oh man, I am in deep sh—"

"Naruto!"

The blond teenager looked down and saw a familiar pink-haired kunoichi glaring up at him.

"S-Sakura-chan!"

"Just you wait until I get my hands on you!" she shouted. Naruto gulped, but before he could scramble around to get out, a shuddering of the floor announced Sakura's arrival.

She stalked over to where he was scrabbling around some bamboo, looking for an escape, and grabbed him by the front of his jacket.

"H-hey, Sakura-chan!" Naruto said with a weak attempt at his usual nonchalant grin. "What's up?"

"You," she said, green eyes narrowed, "are in so much trouble. I'd knock you into next week except Tsuande-sama told me she wanted a piece of you first!"

"S-S-Sakura-chan, I swear, I didn't do it!" Naruto protested. "I've been training all morning!"

"Then why were you hiding, _baka?_" she growled, shaking him so that his teeth rattled.

"Cause Iruka-sensei was mad at me, and I didn't know why!"

Sakura's eyes narrowed even further as she looked him over. "If you've been training all morning then why aren't you sweaty and gross?"

"I took a shower!" he said, voice cracking with his rising panic. Naruto could feel the strength in her arms and knew from their mission into Suna that she could crack boulders with a single punch. He was dead. Squeezing his eyes shut, he wondered if he dared ask for a last meal of ramen before his execution. His stomach was growling furiously now; angry that the promised four bowls of ramen had not been forthcoming.

But nothing happened. Cautiously, he opened one blue eye. Sakura was looking at him, her gaze still suspicious, but no longer that familiar expression of imminent beheading. With a sigh, she let go of his jacket, and he dropped to the ground.

"You're many things, Naruto, but a liar is not one of them." She tossed him a sidelong glance. "If you didn't do it, who did?"

Naruto's lower lip jutted out. "Why does everyone automatically assume that it was me?"

Sakura rolled her eyes and tousled his hair roughly. "Because, baka, you always do stuff like that. Didn't you get in trouble for painting the Hokage faces once?"

"Hmpf. That was a long time ago," he said, pouting. His eyes slid once more to the paint job on the side of the mountain. He could even see small specks clinging on its side as if someone trying to clean off the gigantic painted cleavage already. Biting back the urge to chuckle—it was a good prank, after all—Naruto rubbed the back of his neck, thinking.

"I don't know. The only person I can think of that has paint is Sai." His eyes widened, and he looked up at his teammate. "That has to be it! The bastard!"

Sakura shook her head, pink hair falling into her eyes. "Sai's a jerk, but he's not an idiot. Besides, you know how he is. He wouldn't do something like that—it would never occur to him to have a little fun." Sakura clamped her mouth shut as Naruto turned his face toward her, eyebrows raised so high they were hidden behind his hitai-ate.

"Fun? You think it's funny too, don't you, Sakura-chan?" His grin was unmistakable now, stretching wide across his whiskered face.

Sakura tried to scowl, but her eyebrow twitched. "Don't change the subject! I don't approve at all!"

Naruto shook his head in mock disapproval. "Tch. Liars never prosper, Sakura-chan! Oof!" Sakura cuffed him round the head, but it wasn't with her full strength. He saw immediately that she was just trying to distract him from seeing her mouth, which was trembling with the effort to not smile. _Just a little more…_

"Come on, it's a good prank? Almost as good as the first time we met Kakashi-sensei, ne? Remember the eraser that I stuck in the door so that it bounced off his head? What was really funny was that you couldn't even tell afterward, cause the chalk dust blended in with his hair!"

That did it. Sakura clapped her hands over her mouth, but the giggles came through anyway. Naruto chuckled as well, and for a moment, forgot the danger he was in.

"There you are!"

Naruto squawked in alarm and looked over the ledge of the apartment. Iruka, Shizune, one white-masked ANBU agent, and Tsunade stared up at him. Aside from the ANBU, whose mask was unreadable, they were all wearing matching glares. Tsunade especially looked as if she'd like nothing more than to crush Naruto's head between her hands.

"Oh damn!" Naruto gulped. "Sakura-chan! Help!"

"This way!" She grabbed his hand and together they leapt to another nearby roof and started running.

Konoha's streets passed by in a blur beneath, but it was no good. Naruto glanced behind and saw all four of their pursuers closing in. Tsunade looked over at the ANBU and yelled something. The ANBU, in turn, vanished. _This is bad_, he thought, panic turning his veins to ice. They were going to be trapped!

"Sakura-chan, the—"

"Hush, I know where I'm going."

"B-but Sakura--!"

"Be quiet! Concentrate on running, Naruto. You're slowing us down!"

Naruto took his hand back briefly and formed his hands into the familar seal. "_Kage bunshin no jutsu!_"

Eight clones popped into existence, four of them poofing into Sakura. The Sakura clones each grabbed one of the Naruto clones, and the various pairs shot off into different directions.

"Good idea!" the real Sakura yelled back at him.

The words had barely left her mouth when Naruto saw two kunai fly out—from the hidden ANBU agent probably—and felt two of the clones go down. His diversion wasn't going to last long.

Sakura dropped down between the buildings and started running. Zigzagging right and left through dark back streets, Naruto soon lost all sense of direction. Another four clones whooshed out of existence.

"Here!" She suddenly pulled him into a dark alley with no exit. A cat looked up from a trash can and hissed. They flattened themselves against the wall, breathing shallowly to try to hear any sign of their pursuit. The last two clones disappeared.

"Sakura-chan," he tugged on her sleeve, "they got all of my—" He fell stupidly silent as she put a finger to his lips.

"Shhh!" she hissed, green eyes wide in the dark. "Iruka-sensei," she mouthed. Sure enough, when Naruto poked his head around the corner, he spied his former Academy instructor glancing down an alley not far from where they were hiding.

"Hiding from someone?" The last voice that Naruto wanted to hear purred right next to his ear. He let out an unmanly yelp and tried to shrink into the building at his back as Tsunade, a vein throbbing in her head, glared at him.

"Tsunade-sama!" gasped Sakura. Within seconds, Iruka, Shizune, and the ANBU agent had them cornered in the little alley. Iruka smirked, looking satisfied. Shizune looked from Tsunade's glare back to Naruto cowering against the wall, her expression starting to fade to worried.

"T-Tsunade-baachan, you've got it all wrong!" Naruto protested weakly as the weight of all the glares started pressing down on him.

"Tsunade-shisou! I can explain!" Sakura stepped in front of Naruto, her arm actually going so far as to tuck him behind her. It didn't work too well, seeing as he was several inches taller, not to mention wider, but he supposed it was the thought that counted.

"Explain?" Iruka scowled. "There are gigantic breasts on Hokage Mountain!"

Shizune cringed. The ANBU agent took one careful step away. Tsunade, cheeks pink, turned to level her glare at Iruka, whose jaw worked soundlessly for a moment, as if he too couldn't believe what he said.

"Oh boy, you've done it now, Iruka-sensei," sniggered Naruto. Big mistake. Tsunade's attention swiveled back to him.

"Tsunade-shisou, p-please, you don't understand," Sakura stammered. "Naruto and I—"

Tsunade turned her wrathful gaze on the pink-haired kunoichi. "Oh? So you had a hand in that mess too? I should have known." She scowled as Sakura's face drained of color. "Tch. You think just because this kid's back you can go back to having good times? I'm going to have to speak to Kakashi about you as well. But first..."

Naruto nearly wept tears of Gai-sensei proportions when she closed one fist in the other and cracked her knuckles.

* * *

"This is not how I wanted to spend my day, Naruto!" growled Sakura, leaning against the painted rock, her scrubbing brush working hard. They were standing on a on a small suspended platform that was lowered from the top of Tsunade's stone head to reach the painted section.

Naruto glanced at his pink-haired teammate, pushed up his sleeves, and started digging in with his own brush.

"At least you have the flatter side," he grumbled. "Tsunade-baachan made sure I got this end. Look, there's all sorts of crevices and stuff here where it's the hardest to get the paint off. Say…" He reached back into the deepest niche, catching a glint of silver. "Hey, Sakura-chan! I found a paint bucket!"

Sakura came over to his end of the board. "Huh. Must be where the culprit rested the can to finish the job. What's wrong?"

Naruto was staring at back at the crevice. Mouth agape, he pulled a scrap of blue-green cloth from a jagged edge of stone. "This… this is the color of Konohamaru's scarf!"

Sakura's eyes glinted. "That little twerp! What do you say to paying him back later for all the fun we're having?"

Naruto grinned. "Hehe. Sounds like a good idea to me!" He turned to put paint can on the platform between them, but the lid wasn't on tight and gray paint sloshed out over his hand. He looked from his hand to Sakura, who had turned back to scrubbing at the rock, and a grin stretched across his face.

Using all the stealth he possessed, Naruto inched forward, finger dripping with paint extended. He meant just to tap her on the shoulder, but at that moment she turned and his finger left a wide streak of gray across her cheek. In a heartbeat's worth of panic, Naruto wondered if he should abandon hope and fling himself over the edge of the platform. Then Sakura dived toward the paint bucket and next thing he knew a glob of paint in the shape of Sakura's hand was on the black part of his jumpsuit.

He raised his shocked blue eyes to meet her jade green ones, swirling with mischief.

"Oh, it's on, now!"

A long time later, voices hoarse from shrieking with laughter, they realized they ran out of paint—because it was all over both of them. Sakura grinned through the streaks of paint on her face that made her look somewhat like a zebra and wriggled a completely paint-covered hand at Naruto.

"Truce?"

He grabbed her hand, squishing the last of the paint into it; laughing as her nose wrinkled. "Truce."

They turned back to their scrub brushes and water buckets. As he renewed his attack on the painted rock, Naruto glanced back over at Sakura. It wasn't his ideal kind of date, but it had worked out just fine.

* * *

Author's note: This is the first in a semi-chaptered short story featuring Naruto and Sakura. Hopefully the second will be out next week. 


	2. Paint Job: Second Coat

**Author's note: **This isn't a second chapter in the traditional sense. More like a second short story set during the same time period.

Many, many thanks to beta buddy singeivoire for her help in getting me out of some stuck spots, and for the dirty joke I borrowed .

**

* * *

**

**Paint Job: Second Coat**

"Painting some old lady's house? You have to be kidding me!" Naruto scowled. "That's D-rank; for genin! I'm way too powerful for that!"

"Shut up!" hissed Sakura at his side, but Tsunade had already looked over the edge of her folded hands, a warning gleam in her eye.

"For the record, brat, you are still a genin, and this 'old lady' is Utatane Koharu, one of the village council."

"But—"

Sakura sighed as her blond-haired teammate—pout fully activated—continued to protest.

"Naruto!" Iruka-sensei stood from the table, a few mission scrolls scattered in front of him. "Koharu-sama is a former teammate of the late Sandaime, and as such, this is a C-rank mission, not a D-rank!"

Naruto crossed his arms over his chest, still pouting. "Painting is D-rank, no matter how you dress it up. I still don't see why…"

Sakura eyed Tsunade uneasily, noticing the telltale vein throbbing at her master's forehead. Sakura could sympathize with Naruto to a point—she hadn't been assigned a D-rank mission since before Naruto left to train with the Toad Sage. But Utatane Koharu was a councilor of the village. Along with her counterpart, Mitokado Homura, she was one of the few people in Konoha who could walk into the Hokage's office without an appointment. She'd had a jounin assigned to C-rank missions for three months straight last year for some show of disrespect, and she could, on a whim, withdraw funding from the ninja academy.

Naruto didn't understand the politics of the ninja world. To him everything was clear cut and simple: get a mission, complete mission, get paid, buy ramen. But Sakura had learned more than just how to burst boulders with a single punch during her tutelage under Tsunade. Ninja had their place in the bureaucracy, and sometimes it was like walking along the edge of a kunai.

Tsunade was bellowing now. "… and you _will_ take the mission, or I will assign you to actual D-rank missions for a month!"

"Hai, Hokage-sama!" Sakura said, bowing and pushing Naruto's head down with her, ignoring his squawk of protest. "I'll meet you at the bridge, Naruto," she said, pushing him out the door.

"But, Sakura-chan—!" _Slam_. Sakura leaned against the closed door with a sigh.

"Sakura, you'll make sure he does a good job?" Tsunade said, shuffling some papers in front of her. Her hazel eyes glanced up to meet jade green. Sakura nodded, her lips tightening. There was more at stake here than a simple coat of paint. Naruto's future as a shinobi of the village, his reputation as such conflicted with his status as a demon container in Koharu's eyes. If he didn't prove his worth… didn't show them that he was more than just a jinchuuriki…

"Hai," Sakura said again, her eyes narrowed with determination.

* * *

Sakura paused at the threshold of the path at led up to the small house where Utatane Koharu lived. Naruto, a remnant of his pout still lingering, looked up at their destination.

"At least it's small," he said, brightening.

"Naruto," Sakura touched his arm to get his attention.

"Eh?"

Sakura bit her lip. How to say this so that he would understand? "Naruto, please be careful to do a good job here. I know you don't think she's much of anyone, but Koharu-sama has a lot of influence, and with the chuunin exams coming up soon, you'll want to be on everyone's good side, okay?"

Naruto looked at her a moment, as if working out what she said. Then he laughed, the familiar bright smile replacing the cloud of melancholy. "I'll make chuunin because of my new moves, not because of what some old granny says, Sakura-chan."

Sakura sighed. Together they approached the house. The paint cans, along with a couple of rollers, trays, and brushes, were waiting in the back like their mission scroll had said. Koharu-sama was not at home, of course; she had her duties as a member of the village council to attend to. Sakura privately thought it for the best.

Naruto created three clones and between the four of them, they tossed the paint cans back and forth to shake them up.

_Naruto always finds a way to make even a boring mission interesting, _Sakura thought, watching his antics with a smile. _Sasuke never would have done something fun like that._ The thought came unbidden and with it, the familiar hollow ache. The pain of Sasuke's leaving was no longer the gaping wound. Time and something Tsunade called "growing up" had healed the injury. It was scar tissue now but still tender if poked too hard.

Trying to shake off the gloom that had suddenly fallen on her, Sakura leapt into the space between one set of Narutos, trying to catch the paint can as it sailed over her head.

Naruto laughed as she jumped, missing the can. "You're too short, Sakura-chan!"

Bristling, Sakura redoubled her efforts, channeling a little bit of chakra to her leg muscles to jump higher, but the Narutos leapt effortlessly out of her reach, the paint can zooming between them.

_He won't find it so easy to throw that can around if he's alone_. Sakura gathered chakra in her fist, narrowing her eyes at the closest Naruto. She was pretty sure that one was a clone... if not, well, Naruto was a fast healer.

Sakura swung, connecting with the nearest Naruto. For a heartbeat, as her fist hit the solid chest of her teammate, she worried that this had been the real one, but then the Naruto disappeared in a poof of smoke. Coughing—she had been too close to the jutsu's deactivation—she peered around, looking for her next target.

"Sakura-chan, look out!" she heard a Naruto yell.

"What—!" Sakura glanced up. The paint can was sailing in a graceful arc aimed at her head, still on its trajectory from one of the Narutos' tosses. Instinctively, she punched upwards.

The paint can burst like a water balloon under the force of her strike and white paint splattered everywhere. She could feel it cascading down her scalp, dripping off her nose, and trickling down her back.

"Damn," she muttered and gagged as paint dripped into her mouth. The paint oozed down her face as she shifted, and she kept her eyes squeezed shut to avoid getting any in them. Peeling off her paint-soaked gloves, she lifted a hand to wipe paint out of her eyes.

"No, you stupid clone, catch that!" she heard Naruto yell and opened her eyes.

The other paint can soared toward her. Sakura had just enough time to concentrate chakra to her stomach before it hit her straight in the gut. The air in her lungs left in a whoosh, and she stumbled back from the force of the hit, slipped in the spilled paint, and landed hard on her back.

She lay in the paint-covered grass a moment, mouth open but not breathing. The wind had been knocked out of her. At least she didn't have any ruptured organs or broken bones. Her last-second chakra channeling had saved her from the worst.

Someone was babbling at her. Naruto's whiskered face loomed over hers, panic in his blue eyes. At that moment, the ability to breathe returned, and she coughed, eyes watering, and inhaled a shaky breath, her diaphragm still spasming.

Naruto helped her sit up.

"Are you okay?" He peered at her, almost wringing his hands with worry.

She nodded, still not able to speak, and coughed again.

"I'll be right back," he said and sprung away from her side, slipping in the paint.

Her lungs had recovered by the time he returned, though her muscles were still trembly with the after-effects of shock and adrenaline rush. He carried a large bowl that appeared to be filled with water, because some kept sloshing out over his hands, and a towel hung over one arm.

"What's this for?" she rasped, her throat raw from coughing.

Naruto set bowl down, which also carried a bar of soap, and unfolded the towel. "It was my fault for getting that paint all over you, Sakura-chan."

Sakura blinked at him, surprised. Actually it had been her fault entirely. She had lashed out on instinct, instead of trying to catch the paint can like a sensible person. If Tsunade had been there to witness it, she would have said Sakura deserved what she got for being so thoughtless.

Naruto dipped a corner of the towel in the water, rubbed the bar of soap on it, and, face set in a fierce scowl of concentration, lifted one of the paint-drenched locks of hair from her forehead and began trying to wipe the paint off. She opened her mouth to ask why start with her hair of all places, but another thought struck her.

"Naruto, where did you get this stuff?"

"From the house," he said, jaw set. She knew he expected her to go off on a rant about how he shouldn't have entered the councilor's house, how Koharu-sama would be angry, but she didn't. For some reason, she didn't care.

"Thanks," she said. Then she laughed, wincing as her bruised stomach muscles protested. "Another brilliantly executed mission by Team Seven. I'm glad Kakashi-sensei isn't here. We'd never hear the end of it."

Naruto chuckled. "If Sasuke were here..." He trailed off, a shadow passing over his face.

Sakura clenched her fists in her lap. Sasuke, again. He was always there, always between them. Just when she and Naruto got comfortable again, the shadow of their lost teammate hovered over them.

Naruto dipped a clean corner of the towel in the water and this time gently wiped her cheek, looking hesitant as if afraid she'd sock him for his daring. But Sakura wasn't thinking about that. She wanted to tell him that it was okay, that he didn't have to keep his promise. To tell him to stay here in the village... with her. But Sasuke was more than just a missing comrade, he was Naruto's best friend, perhaps the closest thing to family he'd ever known. It was important to Naruto on a personal level, and to tell him that it didn't matter to Sakura... it might break his heart.

Enough. She had to get his mind somewhere else. Sakura conjured up a laugh. "Ha, no, if Sasuke was here, he'd say 'tch, losers,' and make fun of both of us."

Naruto sniggered. "Then he'd get a can up paint up his—" He stopped just in time, eyeing Sakura nervously, but she was laughing, holding her aching stomach.

"Oh, I have one!" she gasped and with both hands ran her fingers through her stiffening, paint-soaked hair so that it stood on end, very much like a silver-haired sensei they both knew. Then she clasped her hands together in a mock tiger seal. "A Thousand Years of Paint!"

They both doubled over with laughter, sitting in the paint-covered grass.

Giggles finally subsiding, Sakura took the towel and scrubbed the rest of her face clear of paint. She stood, surveying the white splatters covering her from head to toe.

"Goodness. Looks like we won't need a brush. Just rub me against the building, Naruto, and our mission will be a success."

Naruto didn't reply, so she looked up. His face was lobster red, his jaw practically hung to his knees. Sakura realized what she'd said and blushed.

"I didn't mean it that way, pervert!" she scowled. Drawing back her arm to punch him into the next country, Sakura launched herself at him. But the destructive effect she was going for was entirely ruined when she again slipped on the paint, lost her balance, and crashed into Naruto. They both went sprawling on the ground, Sakura somehow ending perpendicular over Naruto's stomach.

"What in the world is going on here?"

Sakura looked up, her heart in her throat as Koharu-sama entered the yard.

"K-Koharu-sama, w-we… I-I…"

"We were just cleaning up!" Naruto said beneath her, his grin wide and disarming. "Sakura-chan, could you get off, please?" Once she shuffled back, he stood and formed his hands into a familiar seal. "_Kage bunshin no jutsu!_"

Hundreds of paint-bedecked Naruto clones sprang into existence.

"Alright, guys, let's get to work!"

"Hai!" came the chorused response.

As Sakura, the real Naruto, and Koharu looked on, the house was soon swallowed up by a press of clones wielding paint brushes and rollers. Within minutes the walls were covered with a fresh coat of paint; gleaming white and clean. Sakura even saw a clone with a lawn mower, and a handful of them with scrubbing brushes, who worked on the splattered paint that had splashed onto the walkway.

There was still some paint visible on the grass where it had soaked into the ground. As she watched, a few of the Naruto clones were pushing a large rock to cover it.

"What are you doing?" hissed Sakura, glancing at Koharu.

"Feng shui," grunted one of the Narutos. "What do you think?"

A few minutes later, the clones disappeared in a haze of smoke. Sakura turned to Koharu, but as usual, the old woman's face was hard to read.

Finally the councilor looked over at Naruto and nodded. "You may report your mission to Tsunade-hime a success."

Sakura almost wilted with relief, but she managed a polite bow instead. She and Naruto walked out of the yard and away from the house.

As they walked, Sakura glanced over at Naruto. "Thanks for saving our skins back there. I was drawing a complete blank when she stepped in, but thank goodness you're a quick thinker."

Naruto smiled at her. "Don't worry about it. After all, you saved me from Tsunade-baachan when Konohamaru painted on Hokage Mountain."

"Naruto, you still got pummeled by her. As usual, I wasn't any help at all."

"Don't forget," Naruto said with a grin, "it was your idea to play that prank on Konohamaru afterward." He laughed. "I've never seen that kid run so fast. Quit putting yourself down, Sakura-chan. You're a great girl."

Sakura felt a blush creeping across her cheeks. Naruto really was a sweet guy. It was nice, actually, to be so comfortable with him without needing to change herself to suit him. For Sasuke she'd been the weakest member of their squad, preferring to fawn over him instead of improving her own skills. For Sasuke she'd grown her hair out,—though she'd always preferred it short—for Sasuke she'd been willing—however briefly—to betray the village just to hear him acknowledge her.

But Naruto would never give her cause to do something that that. He liked her for who she was; as she was, even covered with paint.

Still blushing, she slipped her hand into his and gave it a squeeze. "Thanks, Naruto."

* * *

a/n: Part 3--the final installment--is still in the brainstorming stage. Stay tuned! 


	3. Paint Job: Gloss

**Paint Job: Gloss**

"This is the worst mission in the history of… forever," Naruto groaned, throwing himself down on the grass to stare up at the sky. "Who in their right mind would want to watch paint dry?"

Sakura sighed, still standing stubbornly as if to remind Naruto of their duty. "Naruto, that isn't our official mission, and you know it. Whoever this vandal is has beaten rank genin already. That's why Iruka-sensei hired us. Besides, it's not all bad. We're getting paid for doing nothing, basically."

"What if the vandals don't come tonight?" Naruto said in a deadpan voice.

Sakura rolled her eyes. "Then we'll be back the next night."

"And if not then either?"

"Then the next."

"And if they don't show then?"

"And… the next night after that." Sakura sighed and slumped down to sit on the ground beside her teammate.

Naruto scowled up at the sky, hands cushioning his head on the grass. "This is stupid. I bet I get this punk within five minutes of his getting here."

Sakura grinned slyly. "Let's make this 'boring mission' more interesting then. Care to back that up?"

"Huh?"

"Want to bet on it?" Sakura plucked a blade of grass and began to shred it with her fingers. "I'll be generous. Within ten minutes, whoever captures the target first, wins."

Naruto glanced at her, a grin starting in the corner of his mouth. "I think Tsunade-baachan is a bad influence on you."

Sakura laughed and flicked the pieces of shredded grass at him. "Perhaps. So what do you say?"

"What are the stakes?"

"Hmm..." Sakura tapped her finger against her mouth in thought; then smiled. "If I win, for the next month when we go somewhere to eat, it can't be Ichiraku."

Naruto looked horrified. "B-but Sakura-chan, that's... that's..." he trailed off, his vocabulary apparently not large enough to accommodate such a heinous act.

"The stake has to be worth something," Sakura reminded him with chuckle. "And it's worth it to me to try the different restaurants in Konoha."

Naruto sat up and dug around in his pocket. "What about Gama-chan?" He pulled out the chubby little frog wallet, thrusting it under her nose.

Sakura snickered. "As cute as it is that you still carry that thing around, Naruto, I get paid pretty well at the hospital, so no luck."

"Fine," Naruto said with a pout. Stuffing Gama-chan back in his pocket, he laid back on the grass to consider her offer. What would he want if he won? He glanced back over at the pink-haired kunoichi, noticing the cute way her hair kept falling over her face.

"Sakura-chan… can I bet anything?"

Sakura shrugged. "Sure, why not? As long it's not illegal." She cast him a sidelong glance, suddenly suspicious. "Or perverted."

"Hehe," Naruto chuckled. He knew what he wanted. "Then, if I win, Sakura-chan, I get to give you a kiss."

"WHAT?!"

Naruto rolled out of reach, but she seemed too stunned for violence. A faint blush rose on her cheeks and one eyebrow twitched. "Naruto, you… you…"

"You said anything, Sakura-chan! And one little kiss isn't perverted," Naruto reminded her, grinning.

Sakura scowled, her face still red, then she turned away, chin high. "Fine. But I don't have anything to worry about, 'cause I'll catch him first!" With that she leapt into a nearby tree and soon hid herself on a branch. Naruto followed suit, though stayed a safe distance away.

They could see the main academy building perfectly from this angle and the smell of fresh paint wasn't too strong with the light breeze that rustled the leaves of the trees they perched in. The vandal for some reason, had taken a dislike to the new coat of paint maintenance workers had given to the Ninja Academy building. The head administrator of the building had charged Iruka with finding out the identity of the culprit, but so far no luck. The genin he'd sent to guard the building had fallen under some genjutsu. Unluckily Naruto and Sakura had been in the room when Iruka had requested better help from Tsunade and they'd been given the mission.

Naruto shifted on his branch, eye on the most likely path the vandal would take. Twilight was falling on Konoha; the target would be arriving soon. He glanced over at Sakura's branch and then frowned. Why was she holding a hand seal like that? Wasn't that to release genjutsu? Naruto looked back at the Academy but saw nothing.

_Wait a minute._ Naruto formed a seal. "Kai!" he hissed. The air wavered like a mirage and then he saw a dark shadow already in front of the Academy wall. The figure flashed through a few hand seals and reached out a hand to touch the freshly painted wall. Colors rippled over the surface of the wall, swirling into bizarre patterns until the building resembled a psychedelic circus tent.

Out of the corner of his eye, Naruto saw a flash of pink and then Sakura was leaping down to confront the target.

"Damn!" he muttered, standing up on his branch. He'd been so busy wondering at the vandal's jutsu he'd forgotten about the bet. But by the time he leapt down to the ground, Sakura already had the target—a boy of about thirteen with short red hair—in a tight grip, his feet lifting off the ground. She turned and saw Naruto approaching and smirked.

"Guess I win—"

There was a flash of smoke and the red-haired boy in Sakura's grip vanished, replaced by a can of paint.

Naruto laughed. "Substitution jutsu!"

Sakura scowled, set the paint can on the ground and looked around the area with sharp eyes. "Where'd he go?"

"Ninja art: Paint Bomb Jutsu!"

Naruto and Sakura had time to glance up at the top of the wall to see the red-haired boy silhouetted there, before the paint can at Sakura's feet exploded.

Lurid green paint went everywhere, making Naruto and Sakura look as if they were both covered in slime. Naruto, who'd been further away, just got splattered, but the front of Sakura's body was dripping with paint.

"Sakura-chan! Are you all right?"

Sakura raised a hand to wipe paint from her eyes. "Naruto, that kid should pray you reach him first, because if I do, I'm gonna kill him!"

"Hah! Losers!" sniggered the red-haired boy, still watching them from the top of the wall.

Naruto and Sakura looked at each other. What kind of enemy waited around like that? Obviously their vandal was a little inexperienced. Naruto formed a quick seal.

"_Kage bunshin no jutsu!_"

Within a few minutes, it was over. The paint can had been the kid's worst offensive jutsu and apparently had taken quite a bit of chakra. He put up a bit of a struggle with some taijutsu, but he was outnumbered. In no time the Naruto clones trussed him up in rope and shuriken wire—hands separated so he couldn't form any more seals.

One of the clones tossed him on the paint-covered ground between Sakura and Naruto and then disappeared a poof of smoke.

"All right, punk, what the heck do you think you were doing?" Sakura grabbed the kid by the ropes where he dangled with one hand, the other hand she closed into a fist, prepared to use it.

Naruto grinned at the dubious look on the kid's face. "I wouldn't be so smug if I were you, kid. Sakura-chan's the apprentice of the Hokage… and I'm sure you've heard what Tsunade-sama is capable of."

The kid gulped and began to wriggle in panic. "I was just mad! I-I wanted to enter the chuunin exams this year, but Iruka-sensei wouldn't let anyone in our class. He says we're too young, too inexperienced."

"Baka!" Sakura growled. "He's right! Do you know what kind of stuff you encounter in the chuunin exams? The Forest of Death is not a playground!"

The red-haired kid sniffed, obviously not impressed. "You've seen my moves. I have a unique jutsu—I can take on anyone."

"Except for us," Naruto laughed. The kid pouted.

Sakura's anger seemed to fade, and she lowered the kid to the ground, still frowning. "You're not going anywhere near the chuunin exams with chakra reserves that low. Two good jutsus—one, really, since I can't imagine what good your first would be in a combat situation—are not enough to survive the chuunin exams. Stay in the Academy—graduate, for crying out loud, and then, after your squad leader thinks you're ready, you'll enter the chuunin exams."

The kid maintained his pout for a moment, and then slumped forward. "Yeah, I guess I knew that. But I'm still mad."

"Well, I'm glad that's over," Sakura muttered, wiping more paint from her forehead. "Let's drag him to Hokage Tower and get this over with, Naruto… Naruto? Why are you smiling like that?"

Naruto chuckled, grinning wide. "I just remembered something. I won our bet."

Sakura's mouth dropped open. "You… you…"

"A bet's a bet, Sakura-chan," he said, stepping toward her with firm purpose.

"B-but…"

He stopped right in front of her and was surprised to not see anger, or exasperation in her eyes but something else, something utterly unfamiliar. And what was wrong with her hands? Was she trembling? Sakura closed her eyes and inhaled a breath, as if bracing herself.

"Okay, just do it then."

Naruto raised an eyebrow. No shouting? No protests? He grinned and leaned forward… and pressed a chaste kiss on her forehead.

Sakura's eyes popped open. "That's it?"

"Yep."

"What the hell kind of kiss was that?"

"Ooof! Sakura-chan! Why'd you hit me?"

"Baka!"

"Hey, are you guys going to stand there all night? Or are you actually going to kiss her?" the red-haired kid added, looking at Naruto. "That was pretty lame."

"Shut up!" Red-faced, Sakura picked up the kid, slung him over her shoulder and leapt to the walls, Naruto right behind.

Iruka and Tsunade were pleased with the fast capture of the target, though Iruka was a little less than pleased to realize that the kid had once again messed up the paint job on the Academy building.

"Go ahead and leave you two. Get that paint off yourselves before it dries," Tsunade ordered. "You can finish the paperwork tomorrow, Sakura."

"Hai!"

Naruto and Sakura left the Hokage Tower and paused on the sidewalk. It was now full night. The street lamps were on and the few people left on the streets were hurrying toward home.

"Well, guess I'll see you tomorrow, Sakura-chan," Naruto said, lifting his arms to the back of his head.

"Naruto?"

"Ne?"

"Why… why did you kiss me like that back there? I mean," she said, gathering steam, "you're always asking me out on a date… and there you get a free chance… and you don't take it?"

Naruto shrugged. "I thought about it," he grinned, "but I decided it would be way better if it wasn't, um, you know, something you felt like you had to do, but didn't really want to because you were weirded out or something. You know, like if a bet weren't involved." He laughed, rubbing the back of his neck, and shrugged again. "I know it sounds stupid, but—"

He didn't get a chance to finish his sentence because Sakura suddenly grabbed the front of his jumpsuit and pressed her paint-bedecked mouth to his.

Naruto used to wonder, if he ever got the chance to kiss Sakura, whether she tasted like cherry popsicles. Now he knew that she did taste like a cherry popsicle... a cherry popsicle covered in paint.

His mind had just registered that fact when she pulled away, flushed and looking surprised—at herself or at Naruto, he had no clue. He was finding it difficult to think of anything at the moment.

"Baka," she said finally, and she turned down the street toward her house.

* * *

The end!

Big thanks to singeivoire for putting up with my moaning about how inept I was at writing romance and for her expert beta advice. Be sure to keep an eye on her port for the sequel to "Promises", her Minato/Kushina story.

Also, if any Japanese scholar would care to translate the paint jutsu I made up, I would be infinately grateful!


End file.
